His Lucky Penny
by Just An Old Storyteller
Summary: Written for CS Secret Santa. Hook is quite overbearing when he learns that Emma is pregnant, but it is nothing compared to the pirate's panic when dealing with his daughter's birth. Rated T for language.


Don't know why it took me so long to post this here.

Written for the Captain Swan Secret Santa.

I was tasked with gifting to the lovely ladyfirefly, and I really hope this is a worthy Santa gift. Hope you like it and thank you for giving such wonderful prompts!

Wish list prompt I chose was #5- Daddy!Hook being super protective of pregnant!Emma and freaking out when the baby is born. Also took baby name request.

Can't believe it turned out to be five pages…

I have never written a one-shot, never written a pregnant woman, and never written CS, or much romance, so I really hope this doesn't suck! *fingers crossed*

Also I kind of beta'd this myself, so if there are any outstanding mistakes please let me know. :)

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"I'm not going to spontaneously keel over, you know." Emma sighed exasperatedly at the man hovering behind her.

"I'm not doing anything." Killian defended, putting on a pout as he came in step with her.

"Really? You're breathing down my neck constantly and you freak out every time the baby kicks." The pregnant woman rubbed her swollen tummy as if to emphasize the point.

"I thought the baby was coming!" He defended, nursing his wounded pride. He admitted to being a bit more protective of Emma now that she was with child, but that was to be expected. The pirate captain was worried. He loved Emma more than he could bear, and the thought of anything happening to her, or their unborn child, was not something he was willing to allow.

"Trust me, if the baby was coming I'd let you know." Emma replied sarcastically, patting his arm as they continued their morning walk back home. They had dropped off Henry at school not five minutes ago, an activity Emma was determined to continue doing until she physically couldn't.

"But Emma-"

"No buts!" She said forcefully, stopping to face him. "Please Killian, just trust me." She pleaded, looking into his eyes with what she hoped was a convincing and stern look. Hook deflated immediately, letting out a long sigh.

"You know I trust you with my life." He said quietly, affectionately brushing her hair off of her shoulder. "I just can't help worrying about you." His hand traveled to her abdomen. About the baby." The tenderness in his eyes tugged at her heart strings, but she wouldn't let him off the, well hook, that easily.

"Why are you so worried?" And there was the Swan he knew, always right to the blunt point. He opened his mouth to reply, but no words would come forward. His damn pride was in the way. He quickly turned his face away, but he could not hide the frustrated set of his jaw. He couldn't hide anything from her really. Understanding dawned on her, and she smiled kindly at the man in front of her, reaching up to caress his cheek and turn his face towards her.

"You're worried you won't be a good father." It wasn't much of a question. He placed a soft kiss against her palm before letting out a sigh, flicking his gaze from her eyes to her stomach.

"What if she doesn't like me." He could kick himself for how absolutely pathetic that sounded and quickly tried to reiterate. "What if I'm just not good father materiel." And now he felt like gutting himself with his own hook. He sounded like a coward, and Captain Killian Jones was no coward. Emma's soft laugh snapped his attention back to her, and a frown formed on his face. "It's not funny." He defended sternly, nipping at her hand to get her to stop her unintended mockery. She let out a light giggle before pulling her hand away and slapping his shoulder playfully.

"I'm not laughing at you, I just think its amusing that the big, bad, Captain Hook is afraid of a baby."

"I am not to be teased, Emma." He almost growled, pulling her closer to him, eyes dangerous, but lacking the darkness that had long since been left behind.

"Oh lighten up." She quipped, smacking his shoulder again and wiggling out of his embrace. "It's just cute when you get all flustered. I'm sure you'll be a great dad, look how well you do with Henry." Emma smiled at him, slipping her hand into his and tugging him back into their walk. It was true that Henry had taken to him quite quickly, and he really enjoyed the lad's presence, but they were two entirely different things. Henry was already a boy, and he had filled the role of male guidance quite quickly and easily, much to Emma's chagrin. The lad had taken such a shinning to him, that it hadn't been hard at all to form the father-son bond that the boy lacked and needed in his life.

"That's because any lad with a sense of adventure would like a pirate. He would make a fantastic pirate by the way." He was skirting around the issue, and Killian knew that she was on to him, but he couldn't help the pride that swelled within him at the thought of the boy.

Henry was fourteen now, and Killian had made it his duty above all else, besides pleasing Emma in every possible way of course, to teach the lad the ropes so to speak. They had practiced sword fighting, the former pirate had taught him how to sail, how to talk to girls, everything that only a father could teach a son, only Killian could teach to Henry.

"I've told you a million times, no pirating." She chided without any real force, before the playful shine to her eyes turned serious. "I know you're going to be a great dad, just have some faith in yourself, you've done a lot more difficult and dangerous things after all." She regretted her phrasing almost instantly.

"You mean like you?" He couldn't help but tease her, after all old habits die hard. She knew boosting his confidence was a bad idea. This time the smack to his shoulder held force behind it, and he winced.

"Come, darling, you can't tell me you didn't see that one coming." He smirked, that damnable smirk that had gotten under her skin when they had first met and only wormed it's way into her heart from there.

"I hate you sometimes." She huffed at him, rolling her eyes.

"We both know that's a lie, love." He replied, smirk widening.

"Oh, shut up." She smiled back before stopping abruptly, pulling Killian to a halt one step ahead of her. "Oh, God."

"Um, darling, I do believe that the purpose of a walk is to move, not stop repeatedly." He sighed over dramatically, speaking as if it were to a child. His playful demeanor fell away instantly when he saw Emma's face, a mixture of fear, shock, and panic.

"The baby's coming." It was a whisper, and for all the world he hoped he heard wrong.

"What?" Was all he managed to get out.

"The baby's coming!" She practically screeched at him, doubling over from the pain of her first contraction a moment later. In that moment, Killian Jones, the infamous Captain Hook, pirate unrivaled by any other, panicked.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a kick?" He managed to ask, his voice an octave higher than it ought to be. The glare Emma sent his way could have froze hell a thousand times over.

"Yes, I'm pretty fucking sure it wasn't a kick, Hook." She ground out through grit teeth, trying to even her breathing.

She called him Hook… yep, he was definitely not on her good side now. Then again she was having a baby. It was that thought that set the gears in Killian's head back into motion.

She was having the baby.

Emma was having the baby.

He was at her side in an instant, supporting her as she continued to cry out from the pain. Was it supposed to sound like she was being torn apart?

"Just breathe, love, it will be all right." He soothed, trying to figure out what to do. Why couldn't he think properly?!

"It will be alright when you get me to the damn hospital!" She snarled before another contraction left her gasping and gripping his left arm so tight he began to lose feeling.

"Right, hospital…" He looked around franticly, trying to get his bearings. It took him a moment and a particularly loud cry from Emma to finally jar his memory and with one quick movement he had scooped her into his arms. Not his best idea as he failed to consider the extra weight, but he forced the pain of his straining muscles to the back of his mind. Getting Emma to help was all that mattered. With a deep inhale and a determined clench of his jaw, Killian ran as fast as he could with the woman he loved in his arms.

Labor, he learned quickly, was an extremely painful affair. If the inhuman screeching coming from Emma was anything to go by. The pair had already attracted the attention of more than a few townsfolk, Dr. Hopper was currently keeping stride with him now that they were nearing the hospital, trying to sooth the pregnant woman with calm words and breathing exercises despite Emma's current state of aggression. Killian was all too glad for the company for once, having Emma trying to kill someone else was welcomed at the moment, even if the psychiatrist's damn dog's excited barking was driving him mad.

It only took a few more steps for Hook to burst into the hospital, barging in like he owned the place. One of the nurses looked at the scene with wide eyes, jaw hanging open like a fish before she called for the doctor. Jiminy, or Archie as he was known in this world, had set to work in calling Emma's parents while Killian was whisked away with the nurses to be by the woman's side. She hadn't let go of his hand the entire time, squeezing it until he thought it might break, as if he would disappear if she didn't anchor him in place.

As if he could ever leave her.

What seemed like an eternity later, he was told it had only been five hours but he had lost track of time after the first couple of minutes, the baby was finally in her mother's arms.

And in that moment, Killian Jones, infamous pirate captain, the one and only Captain Hook, had never been happier in his life.

Emma looked exhausted, but the smile on her face as she held and cooed at _their _daughter, was enough to make all the pain in his life worth it.

"She's beautiful." He breathed, as he leaned closer to Emma, staring at the gurgling infant in the woman's arms. She smiled at him, the happiest smile he had ever seen light her face.

"She has your eyes." She smiled, leaning up to plant a soft kiss on his cheek, assuring him that this moment was real, and not some kind of dream. If it was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

Emboldened by the comforting touch of the woman he loved, Killian tentatively reached his hand towards their child. Ever so carefully, he rested his palm on the child's head, smoothing over the thin patch of soft hair atop her scalp.

"Hello, little one." He said softly, dancing his fingers across the baby's fisted hands. He chuckled quietly when the babe flailed her hands at his action, batting his fingers away with no real strength. "She has your attitude." He teased in Emma's ear, grinning broadly when she attempted to glare at him. She probably would have hit him if she wasn't holding the baby.

"So what should we name her?" Emma asked, smiling at the baby in her arms. "I was thinking maybe Wendy, or Tinkerbell. In honor of your time in Neverland, you are Captain Hook after all."

"Pan's little girlfriend, and that annoying pixie?" The indignation in his voice was down right comical, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Absolutely not. No daughter of mine will be named after that sodding pixie. As kind of an idea of a tribute is, darling, I don't need any namesakes from that place to make me happy. Not when I have you." He gave her a soft kiss before tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, captain." She chided him with a laugh before turning her attention back to her baby.

This time was so different than when she'd had Henry. She hadn't even held her son, and there was no one to comfort her through the labor, and in the painful minutes afterwards when she had just stared after the nurse who took him, wondering if she had done the right thing by letting him go. She fought back the tears that had gone unshed in the past, but she could not fight the few happy drops that slipped down her cheeks for her life now. She finally got her happy ending, her happy family.

"Now, love, I do think she needs a name." He said kindly, wiping the tears away from her cheek with the back of his hand. She leaned into the touch with a contented sigh, trying to think of a fitting name.

"Honestly, I can't think of anything. All the fairytale names are taken." She laughed at her own joke, and he couldn't help but join her.

"How about Penelope." Killian suggested lightly.

"Penelope? Really?" Emma cocked an eyebrow at him, surprised he came up with something so un-piratey. She half expected something like Esmeralda or some other unique piratesque name to be his suggestion.

"Always wanted a lucky coin, lass." He winked. She thought about it for a moment, for some reason remembering a lesson on the Odyssey she'd had in high school. Penelope had been a loyal woman who never lost faith in the people she loved, and Emma wished she could have had a similar story in that sense. She wished she would have put more faith in the people she loved, trusted just a bit more. She doubted Killian knew of the tale or the meaning it held, but remembering it had made up her mind.

"I think it's perfect for her." She said with a smile, holding the baby closer. "Penelope Snow Swan-Jones."

"That is ridiculous! Who needs that many names?"

"It's a middle name in honor of my mother and both of our last names, people in this world do it all the time." She explained, finding his confusion amusing.

"Well I think it's ridiculous." He huffed before turning his face to her and feigning hurt. "Why is my name last?" He pouted, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

"Save the best for last?" She shrugged with a chuckle. He opened his mouth to protest but she silenced him with a quick kiss. "Let's not forget who gave birth to her." She smiled sweetly. Killian cringed. He needed no reminding when it came to that fiasco. He would let his woman have her way with this.

"As you wish, Mrs. Jones." He whispered huskily in her ear before standing, leaving her flustered. She was about to give him a taste of his own dirty medicine when the door was thrown open harshly.

"Mom!" Henry cried from the door, rushing to Emma's side in the next instant.

"We kept him out as long as we could to give you two some time, but he really wanted to meet his sister." Charming chuckled as he stepped into the room, closely followed by a wildly smiling Snow.

"She's beautiful, Emma." Snow said tenderly, fighting back tears of joy at the look of absolute happiness on her daughters face.

"What's her name?" Henry asked excitedly, gently stroking his sister's head as she slept.

"Penelope." Emma smiled, holding the baby close and looking up into Killian's eyes with such love and adoration that it made him want to shed his own tears of joy.

It was here, standing beside the woman he loved, surrounded by her happily celebrating family, that Killian realized how much he didn't deserve this. But also how much this family had become his family, and that he was more at home here, at Emma's side, than he had been anywhere else, even the sea.

Killian Jones, Captain Hook, a man once driven solely by revenge and now by love, had finally found his happy ending.

And he wouldn't trade it for anything in all the worlds.

The End


End file.
